"While the five of us are resting under the trees, Darry, you might climb the trees, swinging from limb to limb and leaping from tree to tree. Of course you'll select trees that are not directly over our heads."
"Humph!" retorted Dave.
"Try it, anyway," urged Tom, "it's fine exercise, even if you give it up after a while."
"I'll try it as often as you do," Darrin agreed with a grin.
Their second halt found the high school boys more than six miles from their starting point.
On this trip they were not heading in the direction they had followed on their fishing trip. Instead, they were traveling in the opposite direction from Gridley, through a fairly populous farming region.
At a quarter-past ten o'clock Dick called for another halt. The road map that the boys had brought along showed them that they were now eleven miles from Gridley.
"Pretty fair work," muttered Tom, "considering that these roads were built by men who had never seen any better kind."
"We can more than double the distance," suggested Dave, "before we go into camp for the night."
"If we hike a couple more miles this morning, then halt, get the noon meal and rest until two o'clock," replied young Prescott, "I think we shall do better."